


The Bane of Alphonse

by LiteratureWork



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Allergies, Cute, post promise day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23411233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteratureWork/pseuds/LiteratureWork
Summary: On their way back to Resembool after the promised day, Edward and Alphonse run into their neighbor's barn cat.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33





	The Bane of Alphonse

It was a long hike back to the Rockbell residence from the train station but Alphonse didn’t mind. The air was clean and though he was wheezing from the exertion of the hill they were climbing, he was glad to be outside. He hadn’t ventured this far in one go since he got out of the hospital. It made him realize just how much his muscles had atrophied but also how much he had gained back. Just a few months prior when his brother had first brought him back out of the gate he couldn’t even have imagined walking this far without a break. Unfortunately, this was where they had to stop.

“Brother, do you need your inhaler?” Edward asked him, a look of concern fluttering through his golden eyes as Alphonse’s pace slowed down to a near stumble. He nodded his head and made his way over to the stone wall that separated the road from one of the local farmer’s fields. The world smelled of manure but also the wet stream, the gentle breeze, and the flowers that flooded the meadows. Alphonse pulled out the small inhaler the doctors prescribed him and took a deep breath of it all. It was good to be back. Edward hopped up on the wall next to him to rest for a little while. Even though he was in far better shape than Alphonse was now, the surgery to remove the metal from his newly returned right arm had still taken a lot out of him. He was glad for the break.

“Don’t worry Al,” Edward said with a cocky smile. “We are almost halfway there.” Alphonse groaned tiredly as his breathing began to slow down and return to normal.

“Teacher would kick my butt if she saw me like this. She’s going to run me for weeks the next time we visit her,” Alphonse complained just to receive a gentle nudge in the ribs from his brother’s elbow.

“Hey, maybe then we can start sparring again.”

“You were willing to spar me in the hospital just so you could win!” Alphonse scolded him.

“You were looking significantly better than before! I had to give you the benefit of the doubt!” Edward defended, crossing his arms cheekily. They both started laughing as they poked fun at each other. Alphonse’s stomach started to hurt and he slowed down, realizing that even laughing was a chore for him. However, smiling wasn’t. He wore the biggest grin on his face ever since the end of the Promised Day and he doubted it would go away any time soon.

“Are you ready to head back again?” Edward asked as he hopped off of the wall, ready to finish their journey back to the house.

“Hmm,” Alphonse nodded. He tried sliding off of the wall himself but his brother was right there holding his arm as if he was a fragile piece of work. Alphonse was weak at that moment but he was far from frail. He wished that his brother would stop hovering around him all the time. He could barely move a finger without Edward’s elder brother instincts kicking in. However, most of the time he let Edward be. After all, Edward was just as glad, if not more, about him getting his body back as he was. Besides, he was the older brother. He needed something to be protective about.

As they started up the road there came a rustle in the bushes. Alphonse slowed down for a pause to see what was there when all of a sudden the neighbor’s barn cat hopped out of the shrubs near the corner of the field, holding a dead and bloody bird in its mouth. The grey cat ruffled its fur and strolled over to where they were, depositing its trophy at their feet. Edward grimaced at the site of the mess but Alphonse gasped as a smile tore across his face.

“Brother-“

“No, Al-“ Edward groaned as he knew the legendary question coming up next. “We can’t keep it-“

“But I can take care of it! We aren’t running around for the stone anymore! I could-“

“Al, you know it’s the neighbors. We can’t just pick them up off the street- Al!” Edward scolded as Alphonse started to bend over and pick the prideful cat up. The fur was soft between his fingers just how he had always imagined it to be. He ran his hands through it and just relished in the fact that this was what they felt like all this time. He had almost forgotten since he was put in that armor. The cat willingly curled into his warm chest as he cradled it in his arms. A light rumble ignited out of it and rolled through his rib cage making him yip in surprise.

“It’s purring!” Alphonse whispered as if he exclaimed it any louder it might just all go away. Edward’s annoyed look turned into one of shock as he watched Al actually pet the cat for the first time he got his body back. The revelations of his body were still new to him and everything he touched seemed to be like a small miracle in itself. Edward understood this and a small fond smile grew on his face as he too reached up to pet the cat with his right arm to share in the moment. Edward scratched the cat’s ears lightly as Alphonse cradled it gently, the cat enjoying all the attention.

“We still can’t keep it,” Edward said after a few moments.

“But Ed-“ Alphonse started to complain but a sudden burning in his nose distracted him from his retort.

“We don’t even have our own house, Al. We don’t even know how to take care of it properly, and as I said before, it’s the neighbors! You can’t steal cats!” Edward continued the argument himself not even noticing Alphonse’s pause. The burning in his nose turned into an absolute itch and his body shouted very actively against it.

“Achoo!” Alphonse sneezed loudly, scaring the cat from his arms. It pushed itself off of him and ran away after retrieving its trophy from their feet. Alphonse rubbed his nosy tiredly as he watched the cat run back into the shrubbery. He sniffled a bit but the burning just continued to grow again and he sneezed again.

“Al, are you getting sick?” Edward asked him, concern flying through him. Alphonse shrugged his shoulders lightly as he snuffled again, the burning not going away.

“I don’t think so-“ he said through his stuffy nose. His eyes started to water and he rubbed them vigorously only to sneeze again from the disruption. Edward looked at him closer as if trying to diagnose him but the instant he did all concern flew out of him. A horrible gleaming grin spread across his brother’s face as he realized what was going on.

“You are allergic to cats,” he announced.

“No I am not!” Alphonse retorted pitifully, begging that not be the case. “I can’t be!”

“You are! You are allergic to cats!” Edward exclaimed, a light chuckle starting to form on his lips. Alphonse gasped as he couldn’t believe it to be so. These years of dreaming of having a cat where all thrown to waste. How could he be allergic? Why? However as much as Alphonse didn’t want it to be true, the watering in his eyes and burning of his nose told him it was so. He was allergic to cats.

“Brother, this is a disaster!” Alphonse whined in distress as Edward burst into laughter and slapped him on the back, leading them both back down the road to their previously determined destination; home.

……………


End file.
